


Soft Breaths

by Lilyliegh



Series: A Family United [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Caretaking, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Ray shows up in chapter 3 and 4, Sickfic, did you think i was done with this au?, minor depictions of illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-26
Updated: 2018-03-01
Packaged: 2019-03-24 10:50:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13809636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilyliegh/pseuds/Lilyliegh
Summary: After playing in the snow, Zarc falls ill. Luckily his dragons are there to help him feel better.Part Three to Little Wonders and Warm Hearts.





	1. SOUP

**Author's Note:**

> y'all love this series way too much, so here's another mini-series of adorable fluff! there's some plot here too!  
> thank you for all the love and support from start to finish <3
> 
> chapters will be posted on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week - please look forward to them!

“It’s fucking  _ cold!”  _ Zarc shouts to the ceiling. When he raises his face upwards, he can see his breath burst from between his lips in a misty cloud – just like a dragon, if he were in a good mood, but he’s not because he can’t feel his ears, fingers, or toes. Unable to afford heating, he’s resigned himself to suffering through the cold weather. He has on a pair of warm clothes, all layered: two long-sleeve shirts and a sweater; leggings under his jeans; and two pairs of thick, woolen socks. He’s lucky he has all those pieces of clothing, but somehow the cold has pierced through all of them.

Grumbling, he tucks his hands under his armpits. The kitchen window is open, looking out to a disgustingly white landscape. The mountains surrounding the Original Dimension are snow-capped, appearing like popsicles peeking out from the surface. Every inch of the city is dusted white or grey; the former on the untouched rooftops, and the latter on the dirty ground.

Catching his reflection in the window, Zarc makes a face.

_ Get a bad taste in your mouth?  _ Yuuya asks. He sits on the counter, tail curled around his reptilian body. His red scales shimmer in the sun. Not a speck of warmth emanates from the golden rays, but it casts such a pleasing light on Zarc that his expression softens – and then from god-knows-where a breeze rushes by him and Zarc shivers from his head to his toes.

_ You still cold?  _ Yuuto asks from the doorway into the kitchen. He patters in and hops up next to Yuuya. 

_ But you’re dressed up so warm …  _ Yuuya crinkles his little eyebrows together, deep in thought. 

Zarc growls deep in his throat. “You can’t feel the cold because you’re, I dunno, cold-blooded or something –”

_ I’m a  _ dragon! Yuugo says. He pounds his tail on the cupboard doors as he clambers up with the others. Now Zarc has a mini-audience of three curious dragons watching him. Unfortunately, none of them are  _ quiet:  _ they chatter loudly to one another as if this is the first time they’ve talked today, even though it’s noon-thirty and the dragons have been awake  _ far too long. _

Zarc brings a hand to his forehead, groaning under his breath. He has the beginnings of a headache, and it pulses under his fingertips. “Shut up,” he mutters to them.

No one seems to hear him.

Yuuya steps closer, walking along the edge of the counter with pitter-patters of his claws.  _ What are you cooking, Zarc? Lunch? For us? _

“Yeah,” Zarc says. Truthfully, he isn’t very hungry, but he didn’t eat breakfast and he figures he should be a proper role model to his dragons. In the pot is a brothy soup sprinkled with green onions, the only vegetable he had in his fridge. He desperately needs to go shopping, but the thought of stepping foot in the white wasteland makes his skin crawl. Thus, Zarc has resigned himself to eating a few spoonfuls of broth and giving the rest to the dragons.

A glance over his shoulder proves that that won’t be too hard. The other two dragons have moved closer to inspect the pot; under Zarc’s arm, three little heads poke out. The dragons’ noses quiver as they take in the scent of broth and onions. With his plastic spoon Zarc scoops up some of the soup for them to see. The dragons all gasp in glee.

_ That looks delicious!  _ Yuuya cheers.  _ You made that? _

“I put two ingredients in a pot …”

_ It smells so good,  _ Yuuto adds.  _ You’re getting better at cooking, I think. _

Zarc growls under his breath. “Don’t act so surprised – I do live on my own.”

Yuugo scrabbles over the other two dragons so that he can get closer. Before Zarc has a chance to pull the spoon back, Yuugo clamps his mouth over the utensil and slurps up the soup. With the spoon still in his mouth, he grins up at Zarc.  _ This is so good! _

Zarc yanks the spoon out of Yuugo’s mouth. “That wasn’t for you! You’re supposed to wait –”

_ Hey.  _ Yuuri pokes his head around the corner, eyebrows creased tightly on his forehead.  _ What’s going … on? _

_ Soup!  _ Yuugo says. He jumps down off the counter and hurries to Yuuri. At once, Yuuri stiffens in case Yuugo tackles him, but instead Yuugo just comes close and says, “Go up and have a sip – it’s delicious!”

“I’m not offering taste-tests,” Zarc says, though he supposes none of them hear him. Under his arm, Yuuya stretches his neck out to try and lap up some of the broth too. Just a step away, Yuuto eyes up the pot with his mouth hanging open. Though Zarc fed the dragons this morning, they’re now acting as if they haven’t had a meal all  _ week.  _ However, the soup is done – it’s not like it takes all that long to heat up thin broth. Zarc pushes the dragons back with his elbows so that he can grab a couple mugs to pour the soup into; since the bowl-breaking incident, Zarc hasn’t gone shopping for more dishes.

As soon as the first drips of the broth splash into the mug, all four pairs of dragon-eyes shoot towards him. The dragons watch with rapt interest as the warm, yellow broth spills from the pot and into the dishes. Some of the soup lands on the counter, but Zarc’s woozy mind doesn’t seem to recognise the spill. He drops the dirty pot in the sink to clean later, and then brings the mugs out into the living room.

_ Look, look!  _ Yuuya says.  _ We cleaned up! _

To Yuuya, cleaning up means pushing all the sock-toys and plastic balls to one corner of the room. The massive stack looks like a pile of dirty laundry, and considering the dragons have been mouthing the toys it stinks too. Zarc gives the pile a weary glance before he continues on into the bedroom. The dragons have kicked the blankets off the bed with all their play-fighting. Sun spills into this room too, but it remains frigidly cold. Zarc shivers, and some of the hot soup jostles out of the cup and onto his hands.

Carefully, Zarc sets the mugs down onto the bedside table. He pulls the blankets back up onto his bed and curls them around his shoulders. He leaves the first mug for the dragons and takes the other one in his shaking hands. The contact with his hands makes him wince at first, but slowly he becomes accustomed to the heat on his palms. When he brings the mug close, the steam caresses his cheeks and nose.

Peering over his cup, Zarc spots four pairs of eyes still staring at him.

“What are you waiting for? Yours is over there …”

_ Is it the same as yours …?  _ Yuugo ventures.

Zarc sighs noisily through his nose. “Yes, it’s the same – you just watched me pour it out.”

Shrugging, Yuugo goes first to drink. He slurps it loudly, licking his lips afterwards. The other dragons follow suit, some of them drinking more than others. Zarc watches them out of the corner of his eye, but now that he’s sitting on the bed and curled up with his blankets, his eyelids have grown heavier than the snowfall outside. His body wants nothing more than to slump back into the pillows and fall asleep. 

Woozily, Zarc clenches his hands around the mug so that it doesn’t slip between his fingers. He takes another small sip, but even though he’s barely drunk anything he no longer feels hungry.

_ It’s really good, Zarc,  _ Yuuya tells him. 

_ You’re getting better at cooking,  _ Yuuri says.

“Don’t act …” Zarc tilts his head down to yawn into his shoulder; however, the sound catches in his throat like a shard of glass and he chokes. He nearly drops the mug in his surprise, but quickly he holds himself together and coughs into his sleeves. A sharp pain rockets up and down his throat. For a second, Zarc thinks he’s going to be stomach-sick on his bed, and his body prepares itself to vault over the edge –

And then he’s breathing, albeit shakily. Zarc clears his throat roughly and sets the mug down. A hand reaches up to touch his throat which now burns all the way to his core – not the gentle warmth either, but a fiery pain that makes it hurt to swallow.

_ Are you OK?  _ Yuuya says, voice pitching up an octave.

_ Can you breathe? Are you dead?  _ Yuugo asks.

“F-fine,” Zarc says, wincing at how his voice catches on a single syllable and withers out by the end of the word. He tries to clear his throat as softly as he can, but even attempting to do that is equivalent to swallowing ice shards, and so Zarc just nestles further into the blankets. “Just … choked.”

None of the dragons seem satisfied with this response. They step closer, nestling their small, scaly bodies into the blankets. Zarc tries to toe them away, but the moment his foot makes contact with their scales he feels another shiver run down the length of his body. Inching back into the bed, Zarc tries to focus on steadying his breathing and ignoring the searing pain in both his head and throat.

Yuuri leans his head towards the soup.  _ Did you backwash that? _

Zarc raises an eyebrow. “Where did you even …” He sighs, and thankfully doesn’t choke a second time. “No. You can drink that.”

With a satisfied smile, Yuuri hops on over and begins slurping from the mug. Not a second later Yuuto comes over and patiently waits for Yuuri to finish; then he slurps up the last dregs of the soup. Both of them glance at Zarc when they’re done, looking like detectives.

“I didn’t backwash it,” Zarc repeats. His throat gives out at the end, and he gives a short cough. He also realises that his nose is beginning to run, and he quickly sniffles behind his hand, pretending that he’s face-palming. “Why don’t you go play or something? I’m tired.”

_ I really want to play with you, Zarc,  _ Yuuya says. He crawls closer like a puppy on its belly, dragging himself through the sheets and then up into Zarc’s lap. He’s grown a bit since Zarc first got him, but he still fits into the space between Zarc’s folded legs. Yuuya’s neck arcs up so that he can see him properly.  _ You’re really cold, aren’t you, Zarc? _

“How can you tell?” Zarc says, keeping his hand over his face just in case his body does something traitorous like cough or sneeze. He doesn’t remember putting any spices in the soup, but maybe his body is reacting to the heat of the broth. Logically, that should make more sense that anything else that could be going wrong … right?

_ You’re … vibrating. _

That gets Yuugo chuckling, and he falls over in a fit of giggles that echoes throughout the room. Zarc buries himself further into the blankets to muffle the sound that pierces through his eardrums. 

_ Do humans – do they  _ vibrate? Yuugo asks through his laughter.  _ Like – like – _

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Zarc mutters. “And quiet.”

None of them seem to hear that part of the sentence, but Yuuto leans closer and says,  _ You are vibrating, Zarc. How come you’re doing that? _

“… cold,” Zarc says. “Go away though, and –” The rest of the words don’t make it out before he coughs again, just once, but the sound rips through both the room and his throat. Zarc throws out a hand to clamp around his spasming throat, effectively silencing the sound, and hangs himself in his misery for a second. Everything  _ hurts:  _ his head, his throat, his nose, his very bones. His body feels like it’s powered down all at once.

Yuuri taps his tail against the blankets.  _ He was doing that at the skating rink, remember? I guess humans can’t handle the cold like we can. _

Yuuya hums in agreement.  _ He’s got flesh, right? Flesh and cold must not mix.  _ Turning to Zarc, Yuuya adds,  _ Right, Zarc? You have to wear all those clothes because your flesh-scales aren’t made for the snow. _

Zarc shakes his head. He tugs the blankets tighter around his shoulders, hoping to hide his traitorous body’s shaking before the dragons ask him to strip so that they can see what ‘shivering’ looks like. He doesn’t have the energy to explain to them what’s going on, or even that he’s not ‘vibrating.’ His head feels like it’s filled with cotton. No doubt his nose is running all down his face too, and any minute now Yuugo will ask him what’s coming out of his face as if that’s a normal question to ask. Zarc sighs to himself. 

_ How can we make you warm?  _ Yuuya asks. He touches his nose to Zarc’s cheek, chilly breath on Zarc’s skin.

_ You’re gonna freeze his flesh-scales, Yuuya!  _ Yuugo says. 

Zarc groans to himself. He tumbles back onto the bed, eyes rolling closed.

_ Is he dead?  _ he hears Yuugo ask. 

_ No, but he needs to be warm.  _ That would be Yuuto who Zarc can feel moving around on the bed; as the second-largest dragon, he sinks into the covers and pushes a fair bit of weight down on the bedspread. 

_ It’s too bad none of us breathe fire – _

_ Were you planning on setting him on  _ fire,  _ Yuuri?  _ Yuuya exclaims.  _ No, no – he needs a bath! Zarc! Wake up, Zarc!  _ Something tumbles into his shoulder. Zarc groans and rolls away, tugging himself into the blankets and pulling a pillow over his head. It feels like a jackhammer going through his mind, and all Zarc wants is peace and quiet.

Yuuya keeps banging into him.  _ Zarc, you need a shower! That’s how you’ll get warm! _

_ But then the house won’t be warm,  _ Yuuto says.  _ We can’t turn the heating on, so when he gets out of the shower … _

_ Hm …  _ Yuugo thumps his tail on the sheets.  _ The stove gets hot, doesn’t it? Why don’t we turn that on? It can be a heater, right, Zarc? _

No matter how much Zarc wants to block the dragons out, he’s thankful he heard that terrible idea. Rising from the bed, Zarc grumbles, “That’s a terrible idea that will kill us all. You’re not allowed to touch the stove and you know it.” He takes a short breath, too worried he might set off another round of coughing. Unfortunately, his voice has petered out and he has to clear it; already tacky phlegm has begun to gather in his throat. The thought of taking a shower actually sounds appealing now … but then that would involve getting up.

With a deep sigh, Zarc glances down the bed and out the hallway to the bathroom. He’s not worried about his hot water bill, so a good soak in the warm waters would do wonders for his achy bones and congested head. It might also give him some peace away from the dragons who have perched on his knees and settled for staring through him and into his soul.

Zarc drags himself up and out of the sheets, brushing the little dragons away. They scatter to the edge of the bed.

_ You’re going? _

He winces when the cold air nips at his shivering body. “Alone,” Zarc says. “I can …” He coughs into his hand, turning away from the dragons so that they don’t see how his entire body clenches up in pain. “I can trust you to be by yourselves, right? No trouble.”

Normally, Yuugo or Yuuri would make a smart-aleck remark, but today both of them, along with Yuuya and Yuuto, nod their heads in agreement.

_ Go feel better, Zarc!  _ Yuuya says. He stretches his neck out to brush his nose into Zarc’s hand, but when Zarc gives a violent tremor Yuuya holds himself back.  _ We’ll be really, really good – promise! _

The others nod in agreement, bouncing their little heads up and down. Zarc gives them all a once-over, and then carefully he drags himself off the bed, out the door, and into the bathroom. There’s a little shower on one side and a bathtub on the other; the floor has a drain in the centre for showering, so at once Zarc can strip down and shower himself off. While he cleans himself, he starts up the hot water for the tub. No matter how hot the water gets, or how steamy the room becomes, Zarc’s head only feels woozier. More than once he brings a hand to the tiled wall to steady himself.

When the bath is ready, Zarc plunges right in and sits so that only his head is above water; from his neck down he keeps submerged, floating in the clear, hot water. Already the hot water has begun to make his nose run, but Zarc doesn’t have the energy to wipe the snot away. He leans his head backwards so that the back of his neck can get warm.

With the door closed and the steam acting as a sort of noise buffer, Zarc can’t hear his dragons outside. He wonders what sort of trouble they’re getting themselves into, or if they’re behaving themselves for his sake. Zarc doesn’t have the energy to put out any literal or metaphorical fires today. He doesn’t hear any noise though: no shouting, no crashing. Most importantly, he doesn’t see smoke coming from under the doorway.

All too soon though the water becomes cold and Zarc develops another chill. Before he gets goosebumps on his previous goosebumps Zarc pulls himself from the water. He wraps a towel around his shivering body, cleaning off his face before he heads out of the bathroom and to his bedroom. Without his clothes on, the biting apartment air nips at his skin.

The dragons are right outside the door for him, not two steps away. 

_ How was your bath?  _ Yuuya asks.

_ You don’t … look any warmer,  _ Yuuto adds.  _ You’re still vibrating. _

“Shivering,” Zarc says through clenched teeth. He brushes past them and into the bedroom. On his floor he finds a pair of pyjamas. He gives them a brief sniff, though whether they smelled good or not is unimportant: he just needs something to wear that’ll nip back the chill that has settled into his bones again. Once Zarc is changed, he burrows back under the blankets and tucks himself into bed. 

_ Zarc?  _ Yuuri appears in the corner of Zarc’s vision.  _ There’s … stuff all over your face. _

Zarc brushes his face into his pillow, not caring if it stains or smears or anything. He leaves his face mushed into the pillows and mumbles out, “I’m taking a nap – go play outside. I’ll be up –” Zarc coughs, short and sharp. “For dinner.”

There isn’t a single movement on the bed.

Zarc lifts his head. All four of his dragons sit still, looking at him with wide, watery eyes. Yuugo and Yuuya look to be on the verge of tears, and even Yuuto and Yuuri appear rather shocked.

_ What’s wrong, Zarc?  _ Yuuya asks.

“Nothing,” Zarc says. “Go play, all of you.”

But still none of them move. Instead, they lie down on the foot of the bed. None of them, not even Yuugo, come close to lie next to him. They all seem to realise something is wrong with Zarc and that it has to do with the chill in his body. They don’t ask any more questions, though no doubt they have several hundred on the tips of their tongues. No, his dragons don’t bother him. 

Zarc lies back down on the bed, drawing the sheets up to his chin. Everywhere aches and burns. He closes his eyes and hopes that whatever is ailing him will be gone when he wakes up. 

It’s the least he can ask for, right?


	2. COLD

When Zarc opens his eyes, he doesn’t realise he’s awake for at least a minute. His head feels like it got stuffed with cotton, and even blinking requires more effort than he can give. His face feels tight too; sniffling only makes his eyes and nose burn. Groaning, he drags his face back into the sheets to block the sun from waking him up further. However, the moment he moves his breath catches in his throat, and the dry air on his drier throat causes him to choke. That gets him upright, rolling to the edge of the bed as his chest heaves for a breath.

_ Zarc! Zarc!  _ he hears someone shout, but all his coughing makes him pinch his eyes closed and focus on getting some air into his congested lungs. Sometime while he was sleeping all the gunk in his head travelled down into his throat, and distantly Zarc realises that he’s spitting up phlegm onto the bed sheets. 

_ Well,  _ Zarc thinks,  _ that’s gross.  _ He quickly slaps a sleeve over his mouth and runs through the rest off the coughing, ignoring the various cries of worry and fear from the dragons. Eventually though he can breathe again. His throat grates like the dirty cogs of an engine, torn and abused from his fit. He glances over his shoulder at the dragons to see where they’ve gone, and he finds them sitting at the foot of the bed, just where he remembers them being when he fell asleep.

_ Zarc,  _ Yuuya says, ears pushed back along his skull,  _ are you … all right? _

Zarc opens his mouth to answer – to lie, in fact – but the moment he opens his mouth he feels something buzz along his face, and he has but a second to turn himself away before he sneezes all over his sleeves.

_ Oh gross!  _ Yuugo says.  _ Stuff came out of him!  _

Of. Fucking. Course.

Zarc slaps his other sleeve over his face, glaring down at the dragons. While Yuugo seems rather pleased with this fact, the other three all stare in mute horror. No doubt they haven’t been around humans often, much less ill humans. Before they can say anything, Zarc rubs his sleeves across his face, and then wipes them on his bed – unsanitary, but it will have to do until he gets up and finds the roll of toilet paper.

_ You don’t look any better,  _ Yuuto says. 

“I bet,” Zarc says. He crinkles his nose again, wincing at the pain that brings to every area of his face and head. Then he scoots forward on the bed towards the edge. He needs to get up and find a clock. How long has he been asleep anyways? Zarc hopes not more than a couple hours since he needs to go shopping tonight for food even if he feels like death warmed over.

Pushing himself off the edge of the bed, Zarc shuffles his way out of the room. Each step he takes makes his head spin, so he only goes a few steps into the living room so that he can see the clock on the stove. 

_ 16:00 … I have time before … before dinner, so I can … _

He shoots forward with another stifled sneeze, this one nearly taking him off his feet and onto the floor. Quickly, he shoots out a hand to catch himself on the arm of the couch.

His blunder does not go unnoticed though. Like lighting his dragons all come rushing out of the room, shouting,  _ Zarc, Zarc! You’re really sick, aren’t you? _

“‘M fine,” he tells them, rubbing his arm under his nose before any of them see him. Hell, Zarc doesn’t even want to see himself. He has no doubt that he’ll look like the works: puffy-eyed, runny-nosed, and red-faced. He probably has a fever too which would explain the wooziness in his mind. The congestion only adds to that cotton-stuffed feeling. All in all, Zarc wants nothing more than the crumple onto the couch and sleep through whatever illness he’s contracted.

Unfortunately, the dragons make that wholly impossible. He can’t leave them on their own, not when he’s been their primary caregiver for the past couple months. They need him to feed them and take them outside; he even has to keep an eye on them in the house to make sure they don’t get into trouble.

Cracking open an eye, Zarc finds the little dragons around his feet. It appears they won’t let him get far when he’s feeling so terrible. That’s good news, at least. If they aren’t running amuck, Zarc won’t have to watch them so closely. A glance to the kitchen proves that they haven’t turned on the oven either.

Which means … Zarc gives a violent shudder, drawing his arms together and tucking his hands into his armpits. It’s sub zero in the apartment, more like an igloo than a non-insulated apartment. Hell, the walls here are so thin that Zarc imagines one great puff of freezing air could blow off an entire piece of the apartment. It means that even if he had a small heater it wouldn’t do much good because of the lack of insulation.

Sighing, Zarc drags himself onto the couch. There’s a small throw blanket tossed along the back that he wraps around his shivering body. The dragons clamber up to be close to him, but all four of them seem to know now that their icy scales won’t bring any warmth.

_ We’re sorry, Zarc,  _ Yuuya says.

“Sorry ‘bout what?” Zarc says. His voice cuts in and out, and peters away at the very end. He sounds like he has to cough, but Zarc doesn’t want to be spitting up gunk when his dragons are so close. Who knows if this shit is contagious, or if dragons can catch it. This is the first time Zarc has even been sick around the dragons. He knows from health advertisements that young children are more likely to get sick, but does that also apply to young dragons?

_ Should I be wearing a mask? Should I quarantine myself? _

The latter sounds impossible – not when Yuugo has his nose two inches from Zarc’s.

Yuuto speaks up though:  _ It’s our fault you got sick. We’re the ones who wanted to go outside. That’s why you’re like that, right? You’re … sick. _

“I’m fine,” Zarc say. This time his voice does catch, and he draws the blanket up over his mouth to block the dragons from catching whatever disease he has. The coughing goes on for what feel slike hours, but is more likely less than a minute. It leaves Zarc panting though, and his chest and throat still feel sticky when at last he can draw in a proper breath.

_ You sound like you’re dying,  _ Yuuri tells him. 

Zarc smiles mirthlessly back at him.

Next to Yuuri, Yuuya says,  _ How about some water, Zarc? Maybe you need something to drink to help you stop doing … that. _

Normally, Zarc wouldn't let the dragons touch anything in the kitchen, even the water tap. There’s too great of a chance one of them will break something or hurt themselves. However, water sounds like a lifesaver at the moment, and Zarc can’t even imagine himself standing upright. His head spins like a merry-go-round and he still can’t seem to catch his breath.

Slowly, Zarc nods. 

Yuuya brightens up at once. He hops down off the couch and heads into the kitchen, followed by Yuuto and Yuugo; only Yuuri remains, perched like a cat on the armrest with his tail tucked around his body. His nails pick at the fabric of the couch, pulling at the strings and tossing them to the ground. 

“I’m fine,” Zarc tells Yuuri. “Don’t … worry.”

_ I’m not worrying,  _ Yuuri says.  _ Who said that? Yuugo? _

“No one. Just … don’t worry.” Zarc clears his throat. He runs a shaky hand through his hair, noting how his bangs have begun to stick to his sweaty, hot forehead. He’ll need another shower, but first Zarc needs to regain the energy to move his body even an inch. He’s hung himself up on the couch like some sort of ragdoll, too ill to even keep his head upright.

Back in the kitchen, Zarc hears the voices of his dragons as they try to get the glass of water. 

_ I have it! I have it! _

_ You’re going to drop it if you carry it like that, Yuugo – let’s work together. _

_ Here, Yuugo, let me take that side. One, two – _

Miraculously, the cup doesn’t shatter everywhere. Zarc hears the dragons return around the corner. All three of them hold a part of the cup, balancing it on Yuugo’s back and with Yuuya and Yuuri using their tails to keep the drink in place. It threatens to tip as they head around the side of the couch, but no one drops it. When it’s close enough, Zarc reaches down his hand and forces his fingers to grip the handle. Even lifting a mug feels like too much effort, and he has to use both hands to bring the cup up to his lips.

_ Don’t choke, OK,  _ Yuuya says.

He doesn’t – not until he’s finished drinking, at least. Zarc sets the cup down and swallows what feels like shards of glass combined with tacky goop, and neither feels appealing in his throat. There’s also now a taste on his tongue that won’t go away, worse than when he was making dinner and feeling a little under the weather.

_ Why’re you making a face?  _ Yuugo asks.  _ Did we do something funny to the water? _

“It’s fine,” Zarc tells them. He snuggles deeper into the covers, brushing under his nose with the corner of the blanket. A part of him wants to tell the dragons to go away and play and let him sleep, but he knows none of them will listen to him. They’re too worried about his well-being. Thus, Zarc resigns himself to falling asleep again, rolling his head back against the cushions and letting a painful sleep wash over him.

When he wakes up again, it’s to Yuuto’s tail tapping him on the cheek. Through his slitted eyes Zarc can see Yuuto’s wings are open, and the stained glass looks like crystals in Zarc’s vision. It blinds him too, catching the evening rays of …

_ Oh no. _

It’s evening, isn’t it? The sun is nearly down, and the apartment is both cold and dark. All four dragons are seated on the armrest, with Yuuri furthest away from the other three who are scrunched together. The evening rays of sun cast shadows across their pale faces. They all look scared, as if they were worrying he might not wake up.

Oh.

Zarc twists away from them to stifle a sneeze into the blankets, and then glances up at their even more horrified expressions. How long have his dragons been watching him for? Did he say anything? He has a fever, and he knows those can create rather vivid dreams. Zarc doesn't remember dreaming, but maybe he was tossing and turning on the couch –

_ Zarc,  _ Yuuto says,  _ are you awake? _

“Mhm,” Zarc mumbles. He rubs the sleep from his eyes, wincing at the creakiness of his bones. Fortunately, since it’s wintertime if the sun is still out it must not be too late in the evening. He hasn’t missed their dinnertime, though he supposes that might have been what they were worried about.

“Hungry?” he asks them. “Were you there” – he coughs harshly into his fist – “long?”

Yuuya shakes his head at once, so fast that whiplash could have been possible.  _ Oh no, Zarc, we weren’t waiting for dinner or anything – _

_ I thought you were dead,  _ Yuuri says, looking away.  _ You breathe weird when you’re like this. _

Zarc’s eyebrows draw together. “Very funny,” he says to Yuuri. “And no, Yuuya, I didn’t … forget.” He clears his throat to get rid of the sticky catch at the back of it, but his voice still disappears. He needs water, and a shower, and medicine, and …

Shopping. He needs to go shopping. He barely had any food for lunch, and he was supposed to go before dinnertime to get ingredients for a meal. Then he fell asleep twice and forgot all about it. Even with his fever-riddled mind Zarc knows  _ exactly  _ what remains in his kitchen and it’s a pitiful bounty of one green onion and half a container of leftover rice. That’s not even enough to feed his dragons, much less a sustainable, healthy meal. He has the money to go shopping too. He just has to get up.

Zarc’s body groans in pain. If he gets up, who knows whether he’ll be able to stand upright. Just keeping his head off the cushions seems like a feat of strength. 

_ Zarc?  _ Yuuya says.  _ Are you really, truly OK? _

The little voice of his dragon makes his heart rend in two. 

Zarc nods, more to himself than to Yuuya, and pushes himself off of the couch. The first couple steps he makes threaten to send him right down the ground, and the following two nearly send him into a coughing fit, but then he seems to gain his momentum. Slowly, Zarc crosses the room. He drags himself to the bedroom to grab his jacket and wallet, and on his way back out he checks the mirror. He looks like shit: beyond the general sick look, he looks like he rolled out of bed. Zarc isn’t one to care about appearances – he’s rolled out of bed for class more than once – but this is a new low for him.

_ Are you sure you can go out?  _ Yuuto asks.  _ I bet we’ll be OK for tonight – _

“No,” Zarc says. “No, we’re going to the convenience store across the street. I don’t care if …” He pauses, willing himself not to sneeze or cough, but manages to do both at once and trip himself so that he falls into the wall. Shaking his head, Zarc continues: “I don’t care if all we get is snacks, but you need something.”

_ We’re getting snacks for dinner?  _ Yuugo says.  _ What a treat! _

_ We’ll pick out the food really quickly, Zarc!  _ Yuuya says. 

Zarc nods to them. He zips his parka all the way up to his chin and folds the hood over his eyes. He doesn’t have a face mask, so he wraps a scarf around his throat and up over his mouth and nose; hopefully that’ll keep away all the pissed-off stares from passerbys thinking he’s spreading his disease with the world. After he slips on his shoes, Zarc waits with his hand braced against the wall. Normally when he goes out the dragons clamber on top of him, but his shoulders feel surprisingly weightless …

Zarc looks over his shoulder. “Hm?”

_ I can walk on my own feet today,  _ Yuuya says, marching his little feet up and down to show Zarc how he can walk. Yuugo copies him, and both Yuuto and Yuuri glance down at their feet.

_ That way,  _ Yuuto says,  _ you don’t have to carry us – _

_ You probably can’t anyways,  _ Yuuri adds.  _ You look like you could fall over at any moment. _

Zarc narrows his eyes. “Thanks,” he mutters, though he manages to smile through the scarf. Then a strong cough knocks the wind out of him, feeling like someone gave him a backblow with a sledgehammer, and Zarc struggles to keep himself on his feet and make his way out the door. His four dragons follow behind him like little ducks, all in a row: Yuugo in the front, then Yuuya, Yuuto, and Yuuri. They follow him down the hallway and out the doors to the entrance of the building. 

Back when they first went outside, the baby dragons were delighted by the snowfall. Though the snow has gotten much dirtier since then, looking more like brown sludge along the sidewalks and roadways, it still sparkles in the right light. None of the dragons move though. They stay in a row behind Zarc, sticking close.

Never before has Zarc seem them so subdued. He buries himself deeper into his parka, glancing left and right before he crosses the road. Fortunately, he lives across the street from a convenience store, the kind that sells anything and everything in the dimensional cities. Through the window it looks warm and cosy in the shop. 

Inside … is suffocating. The artificial lighting amplifies Zarc’s headache, and the dry air makes him wheeze the moment he steps in. There are rows upon rows of groceries and snacks in the shop, all in bright, assaulting colours that make his stomach churn. Zarc drops his head down and tucks his mouth into his scarf. 

Sensing his distress, his dragons ask,  _ Want us to find what we’d like? _

Zarc shakes his head. He gives himself a moment to catch his breath, and then he drags himself down the aisles. His feverish mind struggles to focus on the names of the ingredients on the shelf, but towards the side he sees some ready-made meals that he can take home: rice bowls, onigiri, pizza.

“Pick something out,” he whispers to the dragons, careful not to raise his voice and cause himself to cough.

The dragons leap into the air, fluttering their wings; unable to fly, Yuuri crawls up onto the glass and peers through it to see the food. 

_ How about one of everything?  _ Yuugo says.

Yuuto shakes his head.  _ No, we only need one – how about the rice bowl? We can split that. _

_ I’m not eating from the same bowl as you,  _ Yuuri tells them. 

Yuuya tilts his head back to see Zarc.  _ Which one are you going to eat, Zarc? _

Currently, Zarc’s stomach is doing somersaults. He won’t be able to stomach anything unless he wants to see it again. As carefully as he can, Zarc shakes his head and muffles a cough into his scarf. “That’s … for you.”

_ Oh.  _ All four dragons say it, and the disappointment is clear on their angular faces. They all turn back to the food, looking a bit smaller and not chatting quite so animatedly. A moment later Yuuto taps his tail to the rice bowl and says,  _ Buy this one, Zarc. We can all split it, and we’ll save some for you in case you’re hungry. _

Zarc glances to Yuuri. “You want your own?”

Yuuri shakes his head though.  _ It doesn’t matter. _

Satisfied, Zarc shuffles over to the cashier and pays for one of the pork rice bowls. He won’t need to cook it or heat it or anything – just serve it to the dragons and fall asleep. As he orders, Zarc imagines he’s quite the sight: not with the dragons, who have accompanied him before to the convenience store, but with his general sick look. The cashier’s uneasy glances aren’t hard to interpret even if his head does feel full of sheep’s wool and snot.

When he gets the food, Zarc tucks it under his arm and makes his way back out the door and across the street. For some reason one tiny bowl of rice makes his body sag that much more, and by the time he makes it to the other side of the road, through the door, and back into his apartment, he feels like he’s run a marathon. The entire trip should have taken ten minutes tops, but a quick glance at the clock shows that it took an hour, and for Zarc’s body it felt like ten hours.

While the dragons shake the snow from their bodies, some of them remembering to do it at the front door and Yuugo shaking himself off in the living room, Zarc brings the bowl into the bedroom and sets it down atop the sheets. Then he curls into bed, tucking himself up in his rumpled clothes. 

_ Zarc?  _ Yuuya says.  _ Are you going back to sleep? _

“… yeah,” Zarc says.

_ We’ll save you some food,  _ Yuuto says.

Shaking his head, Zarc says, “Not hungry. Just eat and … go to sleep at a decent time.”

_ Oh.  _ That would be Yuugo, followed by Yuuya.

On the tip of his tongue is the word ‘sorry.’ It’s not a word Zarc says, not one he’ll ever drag himself down for. However, through the sheets and his sticky hair he can see his four dragons gathered around the little rice bowl. None of them look happy with the meal even though it must be better than Zarc’s subpar cooking. They must be worried about him ...and there isn’t much Zarc can do about that.

With a heavy sigh catching in his chest, Zarc tosses his head back into the pillows and squeezes his eyes closed. He prays he’ll fall asleep quickly and that his dragons will forgive him for his weakness. With any luck, in the morning he’ll be better.


	3. RAY

He’s not better.

Zarc knows it the moment he opens his eyes and feels his throat wheeze with breath. His nose is plugged, forcing him to breathe through his throat. This, in turn, makes him cough, which makes his nose run, which makes his entire body groan like a great, grumbling beast awoken from its slumber. Zarc feels like a beast, in fact. He still feels like he has a fever even though he’s sweated so much that his sheets and blankets have stuck uncomfortably to his body. Moving requires too much energy too.

Groaning, Zarc shifts his head to the other side. If he twists himself a little bit and gazes down the length of his body, he can see his four dragons curled up on the edge of the bed. Three of them – Yuuya, Yuuto, and Yuugo – are all sleeping in a little bundle together, tails wrapped around tails, and their faces smushed into each other’s bellies. Yuuri sleeps just outside of the pile, with his tail daintily placed atop his nose. All of them snooze on, breaths soft and even.

Zarc breathes a sigh of relief. None of them look sick or tired, at least for now. 

_ What a miracle,  _ Zarc thinks to himself. He was worried that he might have spread it to someone, and that perhaps Yuuri, the smallest of his dragons, would fall ill. Then Zarc would be screwed; as ill as he is, he wouldn’t be able to care for anyone else. As it stands, Zarc is already dreading getting up and going shopping. 

Zarc lets himself lie on the bed for a moment longer before he feels his nose begin to run down his face and his lungs threaten to heave themselves up his esophagus, and then he gets up and trudges to the kitchen. His body sways with the breeze passing through the room. With each step he takes, he feels like he’s walking on uneven logs in a pond. It’s cold, sending shivers from his toes all the way to his head, and the floor feels uneven.

_ Am I hallucinating?  _ Zarc wonders. 

He makes it to the kitchen though. He finds a clean cup in the cupboard and fills it with cold water. The drink soothes the tickle in his throat, at least until a couple drips go down the wrong pipe. Zarc stumbles forward, choking back his coughs before he makes himself sick. He sets the cup down on the counter and brings his hands to his throat, easing himself to take deep breaths and not vomit everywhere.

Just like the times before he hears the scrabble of claws hitting the ground and skidding across the hardwood.  _ Zarc, Zarc!  _ his dragons shout to him.  _ What’s wrong? _

Zarc sees them coming from a mile away. He throws up a hand before they doggy-pile him with their worries, and he takes a deep breath to clear the ick from his throat. “Fine,” he whispers, voice cracking. “Fine …”

_ You don’t sound fine  _ at all, Yuuya says. 

_ In fact,  _ Yuuto says,  _ you sound worse. _

_ That’s right!  _ Yuugo hops up and down.  _ You sound like you’re speaking with your nose plugged. _

Yuuri just grins up at him.

Their words are too true for Zarc to challenge. Considering how tight his sinuses feel and how much snot has come out of him, it’s not surprising that his words sound funny. Zarc’s ears are too plugged up for him to even know how his own voice sounds like. And it’s not like he can do anything about it but let this cold run its course. He could buy medicine at the store, but that would cut into the money … and who knows if he’ll be healthy enough to go to work …

On cue, his body rebels against him. Zarc raises a hand and muffles a handful of sneezes into his palm, each one folding his body more and more into itself. When he’s done, Zarc doesn't dare bring his hand away.

Yuuya tilts his little head to the side.  _ Zarc, what do humans do when they’re sick? _

“Sleep,” Zarc says. He sidesteps past them and to the bathroom, keeping his hand in place until he can locate something that he can wipe himself off with. He hears the dragons follow him into the bathroom, but he doesn’t check until he’s cleaned up and he can fold his arms around himself to fight off the never-ending chill.

_ Is that all humans do?  _ Yuuto presses.  _ You already did that and … _

Zarc waits for the end of the sentence.

_ You still look terrible,  _ Yuuri finishes. 

Yuuya visibly deflates, curling his wings into his body.  _ Don’t say that, Yuuri – maybe Zarc can’t get better right away. Maybe it takes a while. _

“Mhm,” Zarc says. He clears his throat as best as he can, and then adds, “I’ll get something when we go and get breakfast.”

Yuuto leans his head to the side, much like Yuuya does only with his eyebrows furrowed. He looks much older, like an old man dragon if Zarc had the humour within him to laugh. If Zarc laughs, he knows he’ll send himself into a fit. 

_ We’re going out in the snow … again? _

Zarc shrugs. “I've got no breakfast for you, and …” He raises a hand to cover the tight, congested coughs that spill out. “No medicine for me.”

_ That doesn’t sound good though,  _ Yuuya says.  _ Why don’t we go out for you and buy what you need, and then you can sleep, or …  _ Yuuya’s words fade away though. Even to him that must seem like such a far-fetched idea. All the dragons must know what kind of trouble they’re in: Zarc needs medicine and they need food, and Zarc will have to leave the house no matter what.

Sniffling into his hand, Zarc brushes past them and back into the bedroom. Within the piles of clothing on top of and around his bed he finds a wearable shirt and pair of jeans – dirty, but once more he doesn’t care what he looks like. When he was in the bathroom he got to see his appearance too: sweaty, sticky, and way too pale. Wearing rumpled clothing won’t make him stand out any more than he already does.

Zarc slips into the clothes first, and then into his winter parka. He winds his scarf over his nose and mouth once more; he’ll need to buy masks at the grocery store. Then, trudging back to the entryway, he slips his feet into his boots. 

He glances back at the dragons. None of them have jumped onto his shoulders. They’re all in a line, with Yuugo at the front and Yuuto at the back as if they’re protecting the smaller two. 

_ We’ll walk by ourselves,  _ Yuuto says.

_ We’ll put our footprints in the snow!  _ Yuuya adds.

Zac tips his head forward. His heart feels heavy looking down at his dragons. They love climbing on him, and they’ll get tired on the walk to the grocery store. Even though the grocery store is still the convenience store, Zarc has to spend  _ time  _ there – and time anywhere when his head is threatening to implode is a struggle.

Muffling coughs into his scarf, Zarc opens the door and heads back down the hallway. Just like last night he exits the building and crosses the street. The door to the convenience store swings in and out; it’s rather busy this morning, which means it’ll be loud inside …

Zarc groans to himself.

And sure enough, it is. The dry air catches him off guard and makes him choke. At the same time, the beep-beep of the cash registers nails into his brain. Hazy, fluorescent shapes blur past Zarc’s wet eyes. Half of the city seems to be shopping today, or at least it feels like it. Zarc tucks himself further into his jacket and pulls up his scarf.

_ It’s even busier today,  _ Yuuto comments. 

_ What’s for breakfast today?  _ Yuugo asks.  _ How about pizza? _

Zarc doesn’t hear either of them, too busy trying to figure out where he should go for cold medicine. His teary eyes make it hard for him to read the tiny kanji on the boxes. When he thinks he’s found the right aisle, not a moment later he realises he’s looking at a box of cookies instead. Naturally, the dragons chatter loudy about how they’re getting treats for their first meal of the day.

“No,” Zarc wheezes. “We’re getting … medicine.” He rubs his nose with the back of his hand, glancing left and right down the aisles. People push by him with carriers filled with fresh and prepackaged foods. Zarc can’t smell a single thing in his store; his stomach growls for food, but he presses a hand to it to muffle the sound. He already looks visibly sick, so he doesn’t need to add to the pity stares by showing how hungry he suddenly feels.

Something taps at his ankle.  _ Hey Zarc,  _ Yuuya says,  _ what about back there? I see those little stickers you put on your body when you get hurt. _

Bandages. Yuuya knows about bandages because more than once Zarc has cut his finger making dinner. When he lived alone, he used to just let himself bleed all over the place or wrap a bit of tissue around it. With the dragons living with him, Zarc didn’t want to contaminate their dinners and so he began wrapping his wounds.

More importantly though, bandages would be in the medical aisle, the same place where Zarc could find medicine.

“Thanks,” he says to Yuuya. He weaves his way against the current of people heading to the registers, checking behind him to make sure all four of the little dragons follow him. The medical aisle is full of little boxes with even tinier kanji on them. Zarc lifts each one up to his face and squints his eyes. How is anyone supposed to read this? If people were ill, wouldn’t it make sense to make the printing  _ larger? _

_ Is that medicine?  _ Yuugo asks. 

“I … think,” Zarc says. It’s in the correct aisle, but he can’t tell what this medicine ‘cures.’ The last thing he needs to buy is medicine he doesn’t need … And Zarc hasn’t even checked the price to see if he can  _ afford  _ this stuff.

On cue, his body rebels against him. Zarc feels it first, the buzzing starting back by his ears and zipping across his cheeks, down his nose – Zarc pushes the scarf against his face, dropping the box, and crushes the sound against the fabric and his hand.

“Bless,” he hears someone say behind him, a bit curt. 

_ She’s definitely judging me,  _ thinks Zarc.

“ … thanks,” Zarc says though. He rubs his nose through the scarf, not caring at all how gross that might appear. He peeks over his shoulder to see if the person has fucked off – he doesn’t need that woman’s judgment stare, whoever she might be –

Oh.

He knows her.

_ Shit. _

It’s the vet worker or whatever she wants to call herself, the cocky one from where he adopted Yuugo. Her pink pigtails are pushed down by a thick, blue beanie adorned with a pom-pom. She has a matching scarf too, also with pom-poms, that circles the pale column of her neck and trails down around a warm trench coat. What throws off the otherwise gentle look is her face, curled in disgust and pity. One eyebrow is poised like a checkmark above her porcelain face.

Before Zarc can get a word out, Yuugo launches himself forward and tackles into her.  _ Ray, Ray! _ he shouts.  _ It’s me, it’s Yuugo! _

Ray catches Yuugo in her outstretched arms, wrapping them around Yuugo’s belly and bottom and holding him up against her chest. Yuugo buries his face into her scarf, flapping his wings in pure, unbridled joy. For the first time since Zarc got sick, Yuugo is grinning. He wags his tail back and forth as if he can’t hold back the rush of energy through his body.

“It’s so good to see you,” Ray says, touching noses with Yuugo. She closes her eyes for a second, and when she opens them she gazes past Yuugo to the other three dragons on the ground. “And those must be your friends –”

_ My brothers,  _ Yuugo corrects.  _ That’s my family! _

Ray’s face lights up. Her hands tighten around Yuugo in an affectionate squeeze. “It looks like you've got your hands full.” Turning back to Yuugo, she says, “And you look … well.”

Some _ of us are, _ Yuuri mutters. He swishes his tail back and forth, keeping himself low in case Ray reaches out.

_ Miss Ray, Zarc is really sick.  _

Leave it to Yuuya to give the saddest, most pitiful introduction to someone who can't even hear him. Were Zarc not holding back a coughing fit, he might have bonked Yuuya on the head for those words. It doesn’t help Ray’s pity-stares either: when she looks down at him, crouched on the floor with his scarf covering half of his face and his hand pressed against his mouth and nose, Zarc bets he looks like a sorry sight. 

“I … see,” Ray says. 

Those words hurt even more.

Growling, Zarc pushes himself to his feet. He picks up the dropped box of medicine and tucks it under his arm. The last thing he’s going to let Ray Akaba do is pity him, so he rises to full-height, puffs out his chest – and chokes on his breath, falling forward with a raspy wheeze that proves every single terrible symptom of his cold all at once.

“You’re going to over-exert yourself,” Ray tells him. She crosses her arms over her chest and leans forward. “And that medicine you’re holding won’t help you, unless you’re vomiting.”

Zarc’s cheeks burn red. Straightening himself out, and ignoring the shiver that runs from his head to his toes, Zarc puts the item back down on the first shelf he sees. If that’s not the medicine he needs, then which one is he looking for? They all look the same – same box shape, same colours, same size. Asking for help would be equivalent to putting his pride down the drain, but he knows if he doesn’t pick up the box soon Ray is going to assume he’s blind or something.

Ray leans down next to him, close enough that Zarc feels her breath on his cheek. “You can’t see the medicine, can you?”

Zarc doesn't move.

Ray reaches past him, plucking off a box of medicine that, of course, looks the same as every other box in this aisle. “I don’t know exactly how you feel, but I’m pretty sure what you need is this here.” She drops the box into his hands. “For cold and flus.”

Throat sticky, Zarc nods mutely. 

_ Look, Zarc! Ray knows how to make you better!  _ Yuugo, still on Ray’s shoulder, reaches over and thumps his tail on Zarc’s shoulder.  _ Isn’t it lucky we found her?  _

_ So lucky,  _ Zarc thinks to himself, twisting his lips in a scowl. 

He tucks the medicine under his arm and pushes away from Zarc and the dragons. “Come on, we need to find breakfast …”

Yuuya, Yuuto, and Yuuri follow after him. However, Yuugo remains on Ray’s shoulder, tail curled around her neck like a scarf. Ray hasn’t sunk down from Yuugo’s weight – even Zarc finds himself tiring from having a dragon standing on him for a bit. She strokes her hand along Yuugo’s head and back, ending at his tail.

“You really shouldn’t be out of the house looking like that,” Ray says.

“Oh yeah?” Zarc says, not turning around. He coughs once to clear the gunk from his throat. 

“Yeah. You clearly aren’t well.”

_ He isn’t,  _ Yuuya adds. Even though Ray can’t hear the dragons’ words, Zarc feels his ears burning from everyone’s comments. It’s not his fault he didn’t go grocery shopping before he fell ill. It’s not even his fault he fell ill. He’s doing his best too, damn it! He’s taking care of his dragons. He’s –

Yuugo’s tail bumps his shoulder. Zarc turns his head, wondering how Yuugo managed to get back to him when he was previously clinging to Ray, when he sees  _ her  _ standing next to him. Like a royal queen, she keeps in line with him down the aisle and towards the packaged sandwiches and hot food.

“I guess you can’t cook, can you?”

Zarc sniffs, turning his head away from him.

“Thought so …” She taps a single finger against her pink lips. “I don’t want to intrude on whatever you’re doing, but I think you could use some help. How does that sound?”

_ Diplomatic bitch,  _ Zarc thinks to himself.

_ Say yes!  _ Yuuya says. 

_ How can we trust her?  _ Yuuri says. He stands the furthest away from Ray, body stiff. At any moment he’s prepared to run away. 

_ Because,  _ Yuugo says,  _ she took care of me before I came here! Trust me, she’s even cooler than Zarc! _

Zarc scowls down at the dragons, silencing all four of them. To Ray, he says, “Whatever. I’m just going shopping. It’s not like you’d be doing me a favour.”

“I bet I would be,” Ray quips. She steps ahead of him and picks up several dishes: a bowl of soup, two packaged sandwiches, and a carton of milk. She tucks them into a plastic carrier balanced against her hip. With a satisfied smirk, she heads off towards the cashier to purchase them. Zarc watches her blurry figure disappear, but then his mind seems to stop and start. When he next sees her again, she’s holding a plastic shopping bag.

Ray raises an eyebrow. “Did you space out the entire time?”

Zarc blinks long and hard at her. “Huh?”

She raises her free hand to her head, sighing. “You did, didn’t you?” Then she grabs hold of the corner of Zarc’s parka and gives him a tug forward. “Come on, show me where your house is.”

Zarc’s feet follow her on command, but only until he’s out the door and standing across from his apartment. Ray doesn’t know where he lives since they’ve only met before, and thankfully she can’t hear the dragons or else three of the four of them would be blabbering to her about how he lives just across the street. Zarc doesn't want any self-righteous bitches in his house, especially not when he’s at an all-time low.

Next to him, Ray taps her foot. 

“Go home,” Zarc says.

Ray turns to him, steely eyes narrowed. “I just bought you food – the least you can do is say thank you.”

Wiping his nose with his coat sleeve, Zarc says, “I didn’t ask you to pay for those.”

She crosses her arms, huffing loudly. She looks like a toddler who didn’t get her way, with her baby-blue hat and scarf making her look younger than she must be. “Well I did,” she says, curling her hands into fists. “You can put down your pride sometimes.”

“Whatever.”

“You can ask for help too.”

“I’m going.”

_ Zarc, she could help you – _

Zarc curls himself into his jacket. With his face blocked by the high collar of his parka and the scarf, he turns away and begins to cross the street. His dragons follow him this time, all in a little line at the back of his heels. Slushy snow splashes all around them. It’s the colour of brown water too from all the dirty feet that have stepped here. 

Zarc doesn't turn around as he steps up to his apartment. Sure, Ray will now see where he lives, but it’s not like she has a key to his apartment or can even get into the building itself. She has the food too, but Zarc can just feed the dragons the rice and onions and go out again after another nap. His head throbs, his eyes and nose burn, and his throat is so sticky that even breathing makes a weird gurgling sound.

Unfortunately, while it was slushy along the road and pathway, both frequented by traffic of some kind, the steps up to his apartment are slipperier. Just as Zarc steps up the stairs his foot shoots out to the side. Zarc tumbles forward throwing out a hand to catch himself on the guard rail – only he’s too far from it, so he lands face-first on the snowy, icy steps.

Ray Akaba is still standing just across the street.

_ Zarc!  _ the dragons cry out, hurrying around him and using their little noses and tails to brush away the snow around his face and hands. Zarc coughs loudly, wincing at the paint in his chest and throat. The wind feels like it was literally knocked out of him. However, he’s also painfully aware of everyone (mainly Ray) who saw him fall, and so he braces his hands on either side of him to push himself up.

A hand extends down to him, clad in a soft, baby-blue mitten.

“Looks like you could use a hand,” Ray says, crouching down in front of him.

He must be quite the sight before her: dusted with snow, with a runny nose and pink cheeks, hair mussed up from the fall no doubt. The four dragons panicking at his side only adds to the horrible, comedic effect. And still Ray looks gentler, her face not so edgy and pointed like she swallowed a lemon. She still looks like a royal queen – and a royal pain in the ass, if Zarc was to be honest. That hand though … she’s not mocking him.

“Why don’t we get you warmed up?” Ray says. She holds up the plastic bag, shaking it once. “I have soup for you.”

With a guilty sigh, Zarc takes her hand. There’s not a spark of sharpness to her gesture.


	4. CARE

Though it’s Ray who gets him off the ground and into the apartment, since she doesn't know where he lives Zarc has to lead her down the hallway. Ray lets go of his hand in the entryway, and instead places it on his shoulder. Whenever Zarc sways, her fingers tighten and hold him upright. 

Ahead of him, the four dragons bustle down the hallway. They’re skipping along the carpet, wagging their long, spiked tails back and forth. It’s the most animated Zarc has seen them all week, and if he had the energy he’d raise an eyebrow to them.

_ Don’t worry, Zarc,  _ Yuuya says.  _ Ray will get you feeling all better. _

That’s what has Zarc worried, but he can’t raise that concern without Ray overhearing. She’s inches away from him, so close that Zarc can feel her warm breath on his feverish cheeks. It’s an uncomfortable sensation, like sitting under a kotatsu in July. More than once she glances towards him as if asking if what she’s doing – following him, touching him – is OK.

Zarc leads her to the front door of his apartment. His hand scrounges around in his pocket for the key, which he inserts into the lock only after missing the keyhole three times. The door swings inward with a dull whine, revealing Zarc’s messy apartment. The dragons’ toys are pushed up in the corner from Yuuya’s cleaning. There is water trailing from the kitchen to the couch, something Zarc didn’t remember seeing when he left that morning. The lights in the house are all turned on too, and somehow that seems to enunciate the mess even more.

_ Well this is embarrassing. _

With a heavy sigh Zarc stumbles in and kicks off his shoes. He shuffles over the genkan and to the couch, falling down on the blanket with a deep groan. Somehow being home has sparked every single pain in his body. It feels like someone hammered all of his joints, making sure to put an extra-large dent into his head. His throat feels like it has pieces of glass stuck in it, but when Zarc coughs experimentally he feels the sludge in his lungs.

Ray takes off her shoes one at a time, daintily placing them next to his. She goes to take off her jacket, and then pauses and turns to him. “Where can I …” she begins, and then frowns. “Hey.”

Zarc glances up from the couch. “Hm?”

“Where can I hang my jacket?” she asks.

Glancing away, Zarc shrugs his shoulders. “Anywhere, I guess.”

He hears her huff like a child, but then a moment later there’s the sound of her footsteps coming towards him. Zarc peeks over his shoulder. Ray has on a red dress with little bows along the collar. It clings to her arms and waist, reaching down mid-thigh where her legs are then covered by thick, white tights. When Zarc last saw her, she was in scrub-like clothing at the rehoming shelter. She looks more human in these clothes, and less like some royal queen.

“You have a thermometer?” she asks.

Zarc shakes his head. 

“Doesn’t matter anyways,” she says, more to herself than to him. She hurries back to the bag that she left by the door, and returns holding up a box. Zaarc squints to read the printing – is that his medicine? He was carrying that in the store, but then at some point Ray bought it for him, and maybe something else, and …

Zarc crunches forward, stifling a sneeze into his hand.

“Here, before you spread your germs to me.” Ray holds out a paper mask, fingers on each of the little strings. When Zarc glances up at her, wondering what she could be talking about, Ray bends forward and hooks the strings around his ears. She tucks the mask under his chin and up over his nose. Then, chuckling, she snaps the mask against his face.

“Looks good,” she comments.

Zarc sniffles, rubbing at his face through the mask. “How am I supposed to eat with this on?” He yanks it down, wiping at his nose with the corner of his jacket. 

“That’s disgusting,” Ray says. “And fine, tuck it under your chin for now. I have food … here.” She reaches back into the bag, this time coming up with the sandwiches and soup she purchased for them at the convenience store. At the sight of food the dragons come running forward, leaping onto the arm of the couch and nestling close to Zarc’s face.

_ It’s breakfast time!  _ Yuugo cheers.

_ We’re in luck we found Ray,  _ Yuuto says.  _ She bought us that food, didn’t she? _

Zarc nods to Yuugo. “Hey,” he says to Ray, “feed them first.”

“How kind of you,” Ray remarks. She smiles at the dragons. “Hey, why don’t you come down from there and eat on the floor? It’ll be hard to eat on the couch.” 

The dragons hop down one at a time, gathering on the floor. They tuck their tails around their bodies and bring their four feet together. Like cats, they hunch up in little loaf-like shapes while Ray tears off the packaging on the sandwiches and places it down on the floor for them. Yuugo chomps up one triangle-shaped piece before Ray can even take her hand away, and he happily licks his lips.

_ Guys, it’s good! It’s better than Zarc’s cooking! _

_ That’s not a hard feat, now is it?  _ Yuuri says. He comes closer, one eye sticking to Ray in case she reaches out and touches him. However, once Ray notices that the dragons have begun to eat she turns back to Zarc and begins tearing off the lid to the containers of soup she purchased. Little billows of steam rise up from the top of the container.

_ What’s that, Zarc?  _ Yuuya asks.  _ Soup? _

Zarc glances down at his hands. He hasn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon, nearly twenty-four hours ago, so he should be hungry. However, the thought of swallowing anything makes his throat clench up and his stomach roil. He places a hand over his belly, swallowing thickly.

His actions don’t go unnoticed by Ray. Peering over the soup container, her eyes narrow. “What’s up?”

“ … not hungry,” Zarc says. “And …” He turns away, coughing harshly into his shoulder. “And you should go home anyways.”

“Very funny.” Ray stirs the soup with a little plastic spoon, glancing down into the amber-coloured broth. Zarc wasn’t with her when she picked out the food so he has no idea what he should be smelling or tasting. He can’t even smell anything, his nose too blocked up from the cold. Ray holds the soup out to him though, and when he doesn’t take it she pushes it further. “Eat up.”

Zarc takes it in his hands with a sigh. Warmth seeps from the paper container into his hands; his first contact with the heat is so shocking that he nearly drops the soup in his surprise. Slowly though his hands adjust to the temperature of the bowl and he brings the container closer so that at the very least the curls of steam can caress his cheeks. He was hot not five minutes ago, but now an intense shiver wracks through his body.

Ray reaches into the bag and procures a second container of soup and another spoon. She pops off the lid and stirs around the ingredients. Unlike Zarc’s own soup, this one is cream-based – thicker and with large chunks of potatoes and carrots. Thick steam billows from the top of the soup too. Ray dips her spoon into the soup and brings it to her lips. Just for a second, Zarc sees her smile in bliss –

And then she looks to him and her smile vanishes. “Hey. Eat.”

Sniffling, Zarc looks down into his own meal. Surely a bite or two won’t make him sick … right? He twirls his spoon around in the broth, scooping up the smallest bite he can get, and then brings it to his lips. He … doesn’t taste anything. His sense of smell must be affecting his taste. When he swallows all he tastes is a disgusting crud that must be the phlegm and snot in his system.

Wonderful.

_ How is it, Zarc?  _ Yuuya asks. He peeks out from the bottom of the couch, ears curled back on his head.  _ Is it any good? _

“I can’t taste it,” Zarc mutters.

“That sucks. I’ll give you some medicine after, one you have a bit more in your stomach. You have to take this one with food … I think.” Ray pulls the medication out of the bag and quickly reads over the impossibly-tiny kanji along the box. She doesn't answer her own thought though, just shrugs and sets the box next to her. “Keep eating,” she tells him.

Zarc takes another bite. He still can’t taste the food, but at least his stomach doesn’t rebel against him. If he’d vomited, and she was there … his pride would be lost to the abyss forever. Ray must already see him as some weak child, or as a college student who can’t begin to get his life together. All around the house are examples of how he can’t even begin to take care of the space he lives in much less his own body. 

_ Ray will take care of all of us,  _ Yuuto says.

_ If she can’t make you feel better, Zarc, then no one can!  _ Yuugo adds.

Zarc chuckles dryly, turning away when he starts to cough again. As he tries to get a hold of his breathing, he glances around for the glass of water the dragons brought him earlier that morning. He left it by the couch, didn’t he? There’s water on the floor, but nowhere does Zarc see the mug.

“Hey.” Ray taps his shoulder. “I’m going to get you something to drink. You’ll need it for these pills too.”

Zarc tries to tell her that he can get it himself – even though he can’t – or where she might even begin to find the cups, but his lungs keep rebelling against him and eventually Zarc settles for leaning over his knees and taking slow, deep breaths to calm himself down. The dragons stop eating during his fit, watching him with wide eyes. He wishes he could tell them he’s fine, but even too deep a breath sends him into another fit.

He hears Ray’s footsteps though. She comes round to sit next to him, holding out a yellow mug full of warm water. “Drink slowly,” she says to him, “or else you’ll just choke more.”

Zarc nods his head, but the second he brings the glass to his lips he chugs it back, eager to get the tickle and pain out of his throat. Naturally, that just makes him choke more, and choking makes him sneeze, and he drops the mug in all the madness of being sick and trying to breathe. Hot water splashes down his legs and onto the couch; the mug rolls away, spraying water onto the hardwood floor.

_ Zarc!  _ Yuuya cries, rushing forward.

Zarc bats Yuuya away though. With one last, crackling cough, he hangs himself over his body and takes deep, gasping breaths. His pant legs are soaked, as are his socks. Zarc can feel something running down his face, and he tugs the mask over his nose and mouth before Ray sees anything. She must thinks he’s an idiot, Zarc is certain of it. How come she’d want to help an idiot? She barely even knows him, and she doesn’t trust him, and –

A gentle hand settles next to his – not touching him, not on him, but just by where his hand rests on the edge of the couch.

“You’re a real mess,” she says. “I’m going to find a towel or something to clean that up, and in the meantime …” She pauses. “Wait here.” With a huff, she stands and scoops up the mug. She shakes out the last of the water for good measure, and there’s no mistaking the exasperated look in her expression. Not a minute later though Zarc sees her again, this time with the mug in her hands. She hands it over to him, and then reaches into the little box balanced on the arm of the couch and pulls out two little, blue pills.

“Take these,” she says.

Zarc plucks the pills from her hand and dry-swallows them, pushing away the other hand holding the mug. After the last water incident, Zarc does not trust himself with liquids. Miraculously, he can swallow the pill anyways.

From his spot at the bottom of the couch, Yuuya asks,  _ Hey, will that make you better, Zarc?  _

“I don’t know,” Zarc mutters.

Ray raises an eyebrow. “You delirious or something?”

“Never mind …” Zarc tugs himself up on the couch. He drags the blanket across the sofa seats and over his body, but he doesn’t have the energy to tuck himself in. He’s not going to stoop to such a low level and ask Ray for that either. The fact that the cold bitch has come into his house and not poisoned him is a miracle in itself. Her bedside manner could be better, but perhaps she’s holding back because of the dragons.

Zarc peeks over the corner of the blanket. Sure enough, three of his four dragons toddle around after her. Ray can’t hear them – Zarc is certain of it or else she and Yuugo would probably never shut up – but despite the language barrier she seems to know how to communicate with them. Through his hazy eyes he sees her bend down and stroke each of the dragons’ heads, smiling softly down at them. She could be a dragon mother – hell, she’s probably earned that nickname at work.

The only dragon who won’t go near her is Yuuri. He hangs back on the couch, nose inches from Zarc. Sniffling, Zarc glances up at the little, purple dragon. Normally, Yuuri’s face is pinched in distaste and disgust, or curled back in an evil smirk. Now though he shows neither of those expressions. Zarc can’t get a read on him, and that is worrying in itself.

“Hey,” Zarc whispers.

Yuuri lifts his head.  _ What? _

Zarc blinks once, long and slow. In an animal video he watched this was how you showed affection. Why Zarc remembers that  _ now  _ is beyond him, but the moment he opens his eyes again he catches the reddest hue on Yuuri’s face, a flush – 

Yuuri is blushing, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. His tail flickers back and forth behind him. For just a second, Yuuri look truly happy too. He looks like he did out in the snow, and when he fell asleep on the bed with everyone. It’s not quite the dynamic smile of the others, but a small, tender smile all the same. It sends a warm, fuzzy feeling in Zarc’s body too that batters up against the sudden chill. 

_ Shut up,  _ Yuuri mutters, ducking his head away.

Grinning widely, Zarc tucks himself back into the couch. He hears Ray come back, this time wearing her jacket. She holds the plastic shopping bag in both of her hands, swinging it back and forth. Her expression is pinched, eyes downcast. “Um … hey.”

“Hm?” Zarc says, not looking up.

“Hey.” This time she says it louder, so Zarc rolls his eyes upwards.

“Hm?” he says again.

“I put my number in the kitchen for you – call if it’s an emergency and for no other reason. Sometimes I don’t check my phone, so make sure to leave a message. And” – she points at him, finger bouncing up and down – “if any of the dragons catch your cold, I swear to god if you let them get as sick as you I’ll personally take them to my house and care for them until they’re well.” 

“Whatever.” A few crackling coughs spill out. Though Zarc still has the mask on, he lifts the edge of the blanket to block his face from view.

“You’ve still got medicine and soup; there’s another sandwich in the fridge too, and a carton of milk. The last stuff is for the dragons, not for you.”

“Cool.”

She kicks a leg back and forth, dropping her hand down to her side. She lets the bag slip from her fingers and onto the ground too, toeing it towards him. “I’ll bring you some food in the morning – more soup because it’s cheap. You owe me for some of this though, got it?”

“Whatever.” 

Ray huffs once. She turns on her ankle without another word, but because she has to get on her winter clothes she can’t storm out quite yet. Zarc watches her from the couch as she dons her hat and scarf. Were he feeling better he might have made a joke about how those frilly winter garments can’t possibly keep her warm, or how she’s going to have wet feet wearing fashion boots like those. However, his mind can’t even begin to form words.

Yuuya, Yuuto, and Yuugo sit at the edge of the genkan, toes curled over the edge of the floor. 

_ Come back soon, Miss Ray!  _ Yuuya says.

_ Thank you for taking care of Zarc,  _ Yuuto says.

_ And thank you for the food!  _ Yuugo adds.

From his perch on the couch, Yuuri sniffs.  _ Thanks, whoever you are. _

Dressed, Ray turns back to all of them. She smiles at the dragons first, hands clasped in front of her. Then she bows forward, pigtails falling in front of her. “Thank you, dear dragons, for letting me into your home.” She rises. “And” – she coughs into a fist, suddenly pulling a face like she’s bitten into a lemon – “get better … Zarc.”

_ What a stuck-up girl,  _ Zarc thinks. Without raising his head from the couch, he lifts a hand and sticks his thumb up. An eye for an eye – isn’t that the saying? Well, a half-assed ‘thank-you’ gets a half-assed ‘you’re welcome’ then.

Zarc rolls his eyes back and sinks into the couch. Not a moment later he hears the door close, sounding like Ray slammed it shut, and Zarc heaves a great sigh. He hears the congestion crackle in his lungs, and his nose and eyes burn when he looks up at the ceiling. 

_ It’s been a day, hasn’t it?  _ Zarc thinks. 

Yet when he glances downwards, there are four little faces smiling up at him. Even through the blurriness in his eyes and the exhaustion forcing him to fall asleep, Zarc sees his little dragons. They’ve grown a bit since he’s gotten them: their faces are more angular, their bodies wider. They all look different, yet their personalities are still vaguely the same as when he first got them. But when Zarc looks down at them (and at Yuuri who refuses to join the other three) Zarc can’t help but feel a bit of a parenting instinct in his gut.

_ I’m raising you … aren’t I? _

Yuuya drops his chin down on the couch cushion, gazing up at Zarc.  _ I know we’re not warm … and you’re really cold … but … _

Zarc nods, glad his face mask hides the smile on his lips.

With a cheer, Yuuya scrabbles up the couch and next to Zarc. He nestles as close as he can, making sure that he uses the blanket as a guard against his cold scales. Zarc feels a gentle weight settle across his opposite leg from Yuuto who, having discovered the meaning in Yuuya’s words, has climbed up at settled down next to him. 

_ Wait!  _ Yuugo says.  _ You mean – we can sleep with you? _

Zarc nods again, this time muffling his laughter into his shoulder. 

Yuugo’s wings make a loud  _ fwap!  _ as they fly open. Yuugo takes to the skies of the apartment, cheering loudly around the room. Zarc puts a hand to his ear, groaning.

“Yuugo, naptime!” he croaks.

But naturally Yuugo doesn’t listen to him – not really, at least. After Yuugo makes a lap around the room he settles down on the couch, on Zarc’s lap with his head against Zarc’s wheezing chest. Having pressure along his stomach and lungs makes Zarc wince at first, but then he slowly becomes used to Yuugo’s presence and he relaxes back on the couch. If he doesn't move, and if Yuugo doesn't kick his legs out like he normally does when he sleeps, Zarc can tilt his head back and close his eyes.

Just after he closes them though he feels a fourth weight settle along his shoulder, away from everyone else. It’s … Yuuri. Zarc doesn't have to open his eyes or tilt his head to know that Yuuri has tucked himself into the space between Zarc’s shoulder and neck, with his tail wrapped around his own body. Yuuri’s slow, rhythmic breathing brushes against Zarc’s chin.

_ Thanks,  _ Zarc wants to tell them, but he lets the words lie still on his tongue. After all, his dragons already know how much he cares about them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again, thank you to everyone who has read, or left kudos and/or comments on this fic! i deeply appreciate each and every bit of love my stories get!  
> since this is just a fun mini-series that i write in my free time, who knows if this will get another part to it. you're more than welcome to send me [asks on tumblr](https://lily-liegh.tumblr.com/ask) about this au - i do have a lot of ideas for this fic ^W^
> 
> cheers, everyone!  
> -lily-liegh


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